Avtotor
}} Avtotor (Autotor) is a factory for the production of cars in the Kaliningrad region. Created in 1996, by 2008 it was one of the largest producers and assemblers of cars, including brands like BMW, Chevrolet, Hummer, and Kia. In 2006 it occupied 69th place on the list of the 200 largest private companies in Russia by the magazine Forbes. The company's revenue for 2011 was reportedly estimated at approximately 4 billion euros. History Avtotor was founded in 1996 by a group of investors led by current principal owner and chairman of the board of directors of Vladimir Shcherbakov, former Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the USSR Goskomtrud. A $130,000,000 assembly plant was built, originally planning to produce Nissan automobiles. The plant was installed in an unoccupied shipyard in Kaliningrad. The name of the company is a compound of "Auto" and "tor" (the German word for "gate"). In 1997, the new plant began assembling Kia automobiles. In the aftermath of the 1998 Russian financial crisis, the company found itself in a difficult financial position, as automobile sales dropped significantly. To mitigate the consequences of the crisis, the company secured a large contract with BMW and transitioned to contract assembly, sparing Avtotor the cost of buying components. Later, the company began a partnership with GM, starting assembly on the Chevrolet Lacetti. Cooperation with BMW Assembly of BMW brand vehicles began in 1999. In the first year, 555 cars were produced. In July 2009, the capacity of the plant was increased and Avtotor began production of the crossovers BMW X5 and BMW X6. At the end of May 2010 Avtotor announced the start of assembly on the BMW 5 Series 2011 from kits received from Germany. In total, the Kaliningrad plant in 2010 planned to release 9,000-10,000 thousand BMW automobiles, of which 1,600 were the new 5 series. The first of the new items produced in Avtotor plants became available in the summer of 2010. For the production of BMW 5 Series 2011, 73 jobs were created in Kaliningrad in the first phase of development. The series was available in versions 523i Business and 523i Luxury. The BMW lineup produced in Kaliningrad has expanded to eight models: F01/F02 (Episode 7), F10 (5 series), E90 (3 Series), E83 (X3), E70 (X5), E71 (X6). Cooperation with Chery Automobile In the Russian car assembly Chery began in 2006 in the Kaliningrad factory "Autotor." Chery car sales began in Russia in May 2006. For 2006, it sold about 13,000 units. (Of which: Amulet - 8581, QQ - 1959, Tiggo - 1223, Oriental Son - 32, Fora - 257) About 80% of cars sold in Russia were collected. For the first six months of 2007 were sold 18,558 vehicles (of which: Amulet - 10119, Tiggo - 4986, Fora - 2596, QQ - 825, Oriental Son - 32), allowing Chery to take 12th place in the overall ranking in terms of sales in Russia. In 2007, in Russia sold 37 120 cars Chery. Kaliningrad "Autotor" produced for the year 42,000 Chery. In March 2008, "Autotor" stopped the car assembly Chery. As the main cause of failure to provide benefits referred to as Special Economic Zone on the duty-free import of components. Cooperation with General Motors In August, 2003 and General Motors signed a set of agreements on the organization of production of GM vehicles at car factories in Kaliningrad "Autotor." In 2004 in Kaliningrad started production Hummer H2, Chevrolet TrailBlazer and Chevrolet Tahoe. Later they were joined by cars Cadillac. On November 21, 2008 and open production Chevrolet Lacetti full cycle, including welding and painting. Total investment in the organization of production on the part of GM and "Autotor" amounted to 80 million euros. K 2011 y on "Avtotore" is scheduled to be commissioned second phase of production. Today on "Avtotore" successfully produced models Opel Astra, Opel Zafira, Opel Meriva, Chevrolet Lacetti, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Epica, Cadillac SRX and Cadillac Escalade. In 2009, production was discontinued on the Hummer H2 due to the shutdow of the brand. Cooperation with Kia Motors In 1996, signed a general agreement with the "Autotor», Kia led to the Russian market their cars. During the project the production lines of the plant produced more than 240,000 vehicles of this brand. Currently, the group of companies "Autotor" produced six models of passenger cars Kia (Cee'd, Sportage 3 (SLS), Soul, Carens, Rio, Mohave). Cooperation with NAC In June 2005, "Autotor-Trucks", part of a group of companies "Autotor" began to collaborate with NAVECO, which is part of the Nanjing Automobile Corporation. Lineup Yuejin - this is a broad range of low-bed delivery truck with a payload of 0.8 tonnes to 24 tonnes. August 10, 2006 was completed the first batch of trucks, all of which produced machines have been successfully implemented. In 2007, "Autotor-Trucks" produced and sold through his agent, "Autotor Vans' 1940 units of commercial vehicles. In 2007, "Autotor-Trucks", like the rest of the group "Autotor" received a certificate of conformity of quality management standards ISO 9002. To date, continues to manufacture chassis and flatbed brand Yuejin, models NJ 1020, NJ 1041, NJ 1080. Currently, work is underway to expand the lineup due to vehicles with larger capacity. "Autotor-Trucks" and its distributor "Autotor Commercial Vehicles" offers its customers a wide range of additional services for vehicles with special equipment add-ons, such as - Vans (manufactured goods, isothermal) loading platforms with various manipulators, hauler, and other add-ons. References Links *Official website Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of Russia Category:Companies of Russia Category:Truck manufacturers of Russia Category:Companies founded in 1996